Discharge Instructions for Renal Angiography
You had a procedure called renal angiography. This provides information about the blood vessels in your kidneys. During the procedure, a catheter (thin, flexible tube) was inserted into one of your blood vessels through a small incision. A dye was injected to make your blood vessels show up better on x-ray images. X-ray pictures were then taken. The procedure is usually done by a specially trained doctor called an interventional radiologist.
Home Care
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Ask someone to drive you to your appointments for the next few days.
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Do only light and easy activities for
2–3 days after the procedure. -
Avoid strenuous activity for
2 weeks after the procedure. -
Exercise according to your doctor’s recommendations.
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Ask your doctor when you can return to work.
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You can shower the day after the procedure. Do not swim or sit in a bath or hot tub until your incision has healed.
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Take your medications exactly as directed.
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Unless told otherwise, drink
6–8 glasses of water a day to prevent dehydration and to help flush your body of the dye that was used during your procedure. -
Take your temperature and check your incision for signs of infection (redness, swelling, or warmth at the incision site) every day for a week.
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Eat a healthy diet that is low in fat, salt, and cholesterol. Ask your doctor for menus and diet information.
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Break the smoking habit. Enroll in a stop-smoking program to improve your chances of success.
Follow-Up
Make a follow-up appointment as directed by our staff.
Call your doctor right away if you have any of the following:
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Constant or increasing pain or numbness in your leg
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Fever above
100.0 °F or other signs of infection (redness, swelling, or warmth at the incision site) -
Shortness of breath
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A leg that feels cold or looks blue
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Bleeding, bruising, or lots of swelling where the catheter was inserted
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Blood in your urine
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Black or tarry stools
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Any unusual bleeding
